Destiny of the Heart
by Doctor13X
Summary: Zexion achieves in an accident what the rest of the Organization would kill for... his existance, and now he must prove he deserves it. Slight AU. Please Read and Review
1. Prologue: The Accident

Kingdom Hearts: Destiny of the Heart

"Please take three long, deep breaths" I said to Xion placing a stethoscope on her back

She complied, taking three long, deep breaths

"Nothing sounds wrong." I assured her, removing the stethoscope "You said you were, and I quote, 'in pain' please elaborate."

"Well, there is a sharp pain in my lower back" She said lowering her shirt and putting her black coat back on

"Please describe the pain, pulsing, aching, piercing, shooting-" I started

"Shooting" she said interrupting me

"It's just a minor muscle ache, probably caused by stress." I said "Tell me, what was the last mission you were assigned?"

"I went to Twilight Town with Roxas, we battled a Darkside there" she told me

"A Darkside?" I said writing something down on a slip of paper "Show this to Saix first thing tomorrow, no work for three days. Your medical examination is over, you may leave now."

"Thank you Zexion" she said leaving

I packed up my things and walked from my room over to my lab. I had been running this experiment and it was nearing the completion stage, it was a Heartless lure. I was going to plant it in the middle of Twilight town and allow Roxas and Xion to 'find' it, and eliminate the Heartless that showed up. I went over to the device and turned it on. It whirred and buzzed for a moment. Then, suddenly, a Pureblood Neo Shadow Heartless appeared behind me.

"What? Only one?" I exclaimed "There goes three months of research, and it's a Pureblood? This won't do us any good." I face palmed

The Neo Shadow glanced around the room as if looking for something, certain sense of urgency and impatience in its movements. Then, the Neo Shadow locked its eyes on me and slowly started to step towards me, each step more sinister and malicious than the one before.

"What are you doing?" I asked

I knew it wouldn't answer me, while some Heartless obey our commands, they can't speak to us directly. But what happened next surprised me.

"I fOunD You!" a mysterious voice screamed

"Who said that?" I shouted "Show yourself!"

"I-I-I-IIII FOUnd YoUUU!" the voice screamed again "I fINalLLLYyYY fOuNNDddD YyyYYyOou!"

"Was that… you?" I asked the Neo Shadow "Can you talk?"

"IIIIII FOUND YOU!" It screamed charging at me

I summoned my Lexicon in an attempt to defend against it but I was too late, it had grabbed onto me. I felt its darkness seeping into me, its icy cold tendrils of black shadow pouring in through my skin and wrapping themselves around the very core of my being. They wrapped my arms, abdomen, and torso in a blaze of ebony colored shadow, causing me to feel one of the few things Nobodies could truly feel, true pain.

"III FOUND YOU!" It wailed again as I staggered backwards

"HELP ME!" I shouted "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

'I FOUND YOU!" the Neo Shadow screeched

I stumbled backwards and bumped into something. I heard it crash against the floor, shattering like glass on the pavement. I slowly turned my head in horror to see that I had knocked over the Lure.

"NO!" I shouted but it was too late

Chemicals and magic that had never meant to touch or combine blended and merged together to form a spellbinding display of color and light. But due to my shadowy friend who could only yell "I FOUND YOU" I was unable to stop what occurred next, an explosion. The lure exploded in a vibrant blast of vibrant, violent, blue light, engulfing the room in the most devastating explosion I had seen in years. I looked at my hand and saw a sight that would make even Xemnas cry out in terror; my body had begun to disintegrate before my eyes, my own body flaking away in pieces of golden light, a sharp contrast to the blue glare around me. I did what any normal being would do, I screamed.

**** Roxas POV

"Roxas what happened?" Axel asked running up to me, his feet pounding against the floor

"I don't know" I told him when he approached "I heard Zexion yell for help, the next thing I know his lab's on fire!"

It was incredible, all had been completely silent one moment, and then the next thing I knew half the East wing on fire. It was tearing through the walls of the Castle, its orange tendrils wrapping themselves around anything that they could burn to a black crisp.

"Man this is bad" Axel said "Zexy's a goner"

"You sure?" I asked

"I'm a fire master Roxas, trust me, this is very bad." Axel explained

"What's going on her- HOLY SMOKES!" Saix said when he saw the fire

"Yowza!" Xigbar yelled "Man this isn't good. Hey Axel, this your fault?"

"Not this time Xigbar" Axel told him "Not this time

"Not good" Xaldin said upon entering the room "If the wind picks up the fire could rip through the castle in under a minute"

"Good" Larxene said coming out of her room, a malicious smile on her face "We needed a better castle anyway I for one think Xemnas could give us slightly more comfortable beds"

"Are we getting new beds?" Demyx asked coming out of his room

"AHH!" He exclaimed when he saw the fire "WHAT DID YOU DO AXEL!"

"It wasn't me Demyx" Axel said

"Xaldin can you put it out with your wind powers?" Saix asked

"Weren't you listening to me?" Xaldin asked "If I use my wind powers the flames will rip through the castle, the whole place will catch fire. I'm pretty sure I mentioned this like twenty seconds ago"

"I got it covered." Demyx said pulling out his Sitar "DANCE WATER DANCE!"

Suddenly, all the pipes in the floor burst and sent ice cold water spewing all over the flames, slowly dousing them… and getting the rest of us soaking wet.

"Remind me to STRANGLE YOU!" Larxene shouted

"Hey, the fire's out Larxene" Axel said "Chill"

"We better see what we can scavenge from the Lab" Saix said

But before any of us could make a move a hand burst out of the smoldering remains of what looked like part of the ceiling. The hand was attached a white lab coat sleeve, which was in turn attached to an individual with silver hair and bright aqua eyes.

"Help" He gasped "Me!"

"Zexion! You're alive" Axel said

"Bummer" Larxene said "I wanted to see what was in that book he was reading"

"Help-me-ceiling-crushing-lungs!" Zexion complained whilst gasping for breath

"In a moment Zexion" Saix said going through some burnt records in the lab "We've got to see what we can save from the burnt remains of your lab"

"Help-me-now!" Zexion repeated

"Hold you're horses Zexion, we'll get to you in a second" Saix said

Zexion's eyebrow started to twitch "GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW YOU INCOMPETENT-"

I didn't hear what Zexion said next because Axel proceeded to clamp his hands over my ears, by the time he took them off I could hear Saix saying "No need for language Zexion"

Axel, Xaldin, Larxene, and Saix proceeded to lift the smoldering debris off of Zexion's body. After it was all off of him Axel lifted one of the Cloaked Schemer's arms over his shoulder while Xaldin lifted the other.

"There, happy now?" Larxene asked

"Now Zexion please help us identify some of the remains of your lab-" Saix started

"ARE YOU SOME KIND OF IDIOT!" Zexion shouted "GET VEXEN!"

"If you would just wait a moment-" Saix started

"Maybe I should dumb this down for you" Zexion said "I-AM-DYING-GET-VEXEN-OR-A-DOCTOR-NOW!"  
>"Okay, okay, okay" Saix said leaving<p>

"Thank-" Zexion eyes widened "-you" he passed out

"Zexy, hey Zexy, wake up!" Axel said

"Get him to the infirmary" I yelled

"Uh, right!" Axel said

He and Xaldin took off after Saix, urgency in their steps as they ran through the castle. I stared at the unconscious Zexion as they took off, wondering what he had been doing to prompt an explosion of this scale, and when he had bothered to change into that lab coat.

Kingdom Hearts

Destiny of The Heart

No. IXemnas

Organization XIII's leader. Through power over **Nothing**, he seeks power over everything.

Weapon: Ethereal Blades

No. II Xigbar

Founding member. He keeps an ear to the ground and a finger on the trigger. Manipulates **Space**.

Weapon: Arrowguns

No. III Xaldin

Founding member. A warrior with a silver tongue. He carries six lances and can harness the **Wind**.

Weapon: Lances

No. IV Vexen

Founding member. A brilliant scientist with dominion over **Ice**… and a personality to match.

Weapon: Shield

No. V Lexaeus

Founding Member. Tremendously strong, but surprisingly quiet— stalwart as the **Earth **itself.

Weapon: Axe sword

No. VI Zexion

[_OUTDATED FILE_]

Founding member. An intellectual with no room for feelings. He can create **Illusions** at will.

Weapon: Lexicon

No. VII Saix

Second in Command who longs for the heart he does not have. Only the **Moon** breaks his icy calm.

Weapon: Claymore

No. VIII Axel

An assassin who puts his own agenda first and, and everything else on the back burner. Wields **Fire**.

Weapon: Chakrams

No. IX Demyx

Prefers to kick back with his Sitar, and leave the dirty work to the **Water **under his command.

Weapon: Sitar

No. X Luxord

Life, to him, is just a game to be won…. And he has all the **Time **in the world to do it.

Weapon: Cards

No. XI Larxene

Wields sharp knives and a sharper tongue. Her **Lightning **strikes as quick as her temper.

Weapon: Knives

No. XII Marluxia

In the arc of his scythe **Flowers **grow and all else perishes. His pretty face hides ugly motives.

Weapon: Scythe

No. XIII Roxas

A boy, newly aware of himself. His **Light** shines as bright and brief as the setting sun.

Weapon: Keyblade

No. XIV Xion

A girl, even younger than Roxas, and even less aware. She is eager to prove herself to her superiors. She shines as bright and as beautifully as the morning **Light**.

Weapon: Keyblade

No. VI Zexion

[UPDATED FILE]

Founding member. In an accident he has regained what many others have killed for. His **Light** battles his **Shadow** within him as he boldly walks forward trying to make his mark on the world and prove to himself he is worthy of his gift.

Weapon:…Keyblade


	2. Chapter 1: Dive to the Heart

Chapter 1

Dive to the Heart

"It's astounding!" Vexen exclaimed, looking at my X-rays

"What is?" I asked

"Not only are you completely unharmed, minus the head injury and minor flesh wounds, from half the ceiling falling on you, you're body has actually decreased in age!" Vexen roared "And your age is continuing to fall!"

"What's that in english?" I asked slightly irritated

"You're getting younger!" Vexen exclaimed, almost joy in his voice

"Great, wake me up when I care." I said pulling the covers of the Infirmary bed over my head

Vexen had other ideas, pulling the covers off of my face "Aren't you curious as to why you're body is going through a reverse aging process. I mean, you're getting younger, and you want to SLEEP?"

"Yes." I replied taking the covers and pulling them back over my face

Yet again, Vexen proceeded to pull the covers off of my face "At least tell me what you were doing prior to the explosion!"

"Working." I responded pulling the covers over my face

"On what?" Vexen asked pulling the covers off of my face

"What part of 'sleep' don't you understand?" I shouted pulling the covers over my head

In the repetitive cycle of pain I had been caught in, Vexen pulled the covers off again

"At least tell me what you were working on!" Vexen shouted

"What do you have against the concept of sleep?" I asked pulling the covers over my head

"Fine, but I'm going to have some questions for you in the morning." Vexen said

"Ask me anything you like, after I sleep," I consented lying down.

"I swear, you've never been this irritating," Vexen muttered.

"Back at ya" I retorted getting comfortable as he finally

* * *

><p>Saix POV, Where Nothing Gathers<p>

"I have come here to ask a simple question to you all," I said pausing. "What happened?"

"There was an explosion, and three years of research data was lost," Vexen replied. "It'll take forever to restore that data."

"Yes, aside from that," I said.

Silence echoed around the room, each member sat in their pale white throne a blank expression on their faces. I sighed and rested my head in the palm of my hand, praying that the ignorant silence that lingered within the walls of the castle was a figment of my imagination. But I knew that was not the case, the others truly were this ignorant as to the truth of the events that had transpired only moments ago.

"So you're telling me," I paused "That a humongous explosion wrecks half the eastern wing, sets it on fire, and almost crushes Zexion beneath the burning remains of the ceiling, and nobody knows why?"

"It's not our fault Saix." Axel said

"Very well, it's not, but I need the details of the gigantic explosion that almost killed number six."

"Well you shared a lot of concern about Zexion didn't you." Larxene said sarcastically

"What are you talking about Larxene?" I asked

"Who was it that ignored Zexion as he laid under burning ceiling calling out to us 'Help-me'?" Larxene asked.

"Who was it that insisted we look for research data while Zexion lay dying under burning rubble!" Demyx shouted.

"Stay out of this Demyx," I shouted.

"Is this true Saix?" a deep voice asked.

I froze in my seat, my eyes widening in realization of who was speaking. I slowly turned to the source of the deep voice, the highest chair in the room, stretching up to reach the ceiling, his silver hair drooped across his shoulders.

"Xemnas" I said.

"Is it true?" Xemnas asked again. "Is it true that while one of our own was dying, you were looking at data?"

"... Yes" I admitted "I was worried about the data we had stored in Zexion's laboratory, I discarded Zexion's life as if it were a card in a card game."

"I see..." Xemnas said trailing off.

"Superior, if I may so boldly say-" Marluxia said speaking up "Now may be an excellent time to consider using the-" Marluxia suddenly glanced around the room nervously, as if he was hiding a major secret "-using uh... that device I spoke about earlier."

"Hmmm..." The Superior trailed off a bit, a glazed look in his eyes "... Perhaps... I don't know... Marluxia you and I will speak about this in private."

"As you wish Xemnas," Marluxia said grinning mischievously.

"Vexen, Lexaeus, Axel, please take a look at Zexion's laboratory and see what you can scavenge. Also, see what you can find out what Zexion was doing," Xemnas ordered.

"As you wish." Vexen said opening a corridor of darkness and leaving the room, soon followed by Axel and Lexaeus.

"So what do we do?" Xaldin asked.

"The rest of you, may leave," Xemnas said.

The others simply nodded and disappeared in a blaze of shadow as they entered their own corridors of darkness to leave the room. Xemnas, Marluxia, and I were the only ones that remained in the room. Xemnas turned to me, his orange eyes just staring at me, and then he said "You may leave too Saix, I have a private matter to discuss with Marluxia."

My eyes widened with shock, I was Second in command of the Organization, I had every right to know what Xemnas and Marluxia were about to discuss. I was about to protest when Marluxia gave me a look that said "Just go Saix, this doesn't concern you". I grunted in defeat, opened a corridor of darkness... and left.

* * *

><p>Zexion POV<p>

*Drip*

"Nng," I groaned turning over in my bed.

*Drip*Drip*

"No noise," I whined. "Just sleep."

*Drip*Drip*Drip*

"Demyx-" I moaned. "If that's you I'm going to rip you're head off and feed it to a Twilight Thorn."

*Drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip*

"Ugh," I said lifting the covers, "What is that noise?"

I got out of bed and put my feet on the floor and my eye's widened when my feet were met with ice cold liquid. I turned my head very slowly, to discover there was water on the floor, and not just a puddle, the room was flooding. I glanced around the room nervously and found the source of dripping noise that had woken me up, a crack. No, not just a crack, many cracks, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of small fracture across the walls of the room, crystal blue water dripping through each one like a bath faucet that had not been closed all the way, and the room was filling up like the tub.

I ran over to the door in a panic, trying to open it, however I had no luck. Someone had locked me in, I was unable to open the door and leave, then I heard a cracking sound, I slowly turned around and saw, to my horror, one of the small cracks had expanded, not only linking several other but allowing more water to spew through the cracks. The water level had risen a foot with that recent crack. I started to panic, I turned around and pounded against the door like a child that had been locked in their closet.

"HELP!" I shouted. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

I heard a loud, thunderous, crack, that seemed to ominously echo across the room. I slowly turned around, trembling as I did so, to find the cracks had connected directly above my bed. Then wall ruptured, allowing a tidal wave to surge forth from the wall, filling the room even faster than before. The water was rapidly rising around me, engulfing my legs in the icy coldness that comes with its liquid form.

"HELP!" I screamed in absolute panic, pounding on the door in a terror-filled manner, allowing my survival instinct to take over completely "SOMEONE HELP ME! THE ROOM IS FLOODING!"

I heard one final crack, and every wall erupted, allowing water to rush into the room from the walls that would soon become my grave. Before the rushing jet's completely filled the room with its liquid killer, I inhaled as much air as I could before the tidal wave hit me, slamming me into the door. My lungs ached, begged, and yearned for air, but I knew I could not give into the urge to take a deep breath, knowing the ice and cold of the water would fill my lungs and snuff out the spark of life I was clinging to, and as I desperately fought for my life, one thought rang throughout my mind.

"This has been, the worst day of my life, first an explosion destroys my lab, and now I almost drown."I thought.

Then I heard something, the sound of a flare going off, and then, the sound of a stone being carved. Curious, I turned around and saw a sky blue glow in the center of the pale white stone floor. I pushed against the current of water that continued to fill the room and walked ever so slowly to the center of the room. On the floor, glowing as fiercely like the morning sun, was a heart, a sky blue heart etched into the floor, barely larger than my head.

What happened next I cannot fully understand, even to this day, but it was the most spectacular sight I had ever seen. I reached forward, compelled by an unknown force, and placed my hand over the glowing stone heart. The effect was instantaneous, a sky colored pulse-wave ripped across the room, then several more, and more, eventually I recognized the pattern of the pulses.

Buh-bup buh-bup

"It's a heart beat," I realized.

The glowing heart sank into the floor, and as it fell into the floor I saw what lay beneath it, darkness. An abyss of, absolute, unending darkness, that lay beneath the pale white surface of the stone floor. The outline of the heart began to turn to powder, slowly spreading across the floor of the room, turning it to dust, I knew it was pointless to struggle, but I would anyway. I turned around and started to swim towards the door, but it was too late, the fatigue of the explosion had caught up with me. I reached for the door handle, but as I stretched my fingers out, reaching for it in a final attempt at survival... I missed, I sank through the snow-white powder that used to be the floor, watching as the door slowly became farther, and farther away, I tried to swim for it, but gravity had other ideas, pulling me down towards the unending darkness that would serve as my grave. I watched as the door was soon lost in the distance, the only sources of color I could see in the endless darkness becoming my lab coat, and my silver hair as it flew forward across my face, for the first time in a long time I saw through both my eyes, rather than have my hair obscure my right eyes vision, but I slowly closed both my eyes. Accepting fate I opened my mouth, and ended my yearning for air.

* * *

><p>Xemnas POV, Where Nothing Gathers<p>

"Thank you superior!" Marluxia nearly screamed in 'joy' "I won't disappoint you."

"Let us hope not." I muttered as Marluxia vanished in through a corridor of darkness

I leaned in to my throne, the events of the last 24 hours almost haunting me. In fact, the last week seemed to be looming over me like the ominous rain cloud seen in cartoons. First Roxas joined us in the organization, then Xion, and now we may lose Zexion, a founding and vital member to our organization. I wasn't even going to consider the time and resources that would need to be spent repairing the castle from his failed experiment. Then, as if by a miracle, a thought entered my thoughts.

"Sora," I said aloud. "Yes, he'd be in Radiant Garden by now, or as I'm aware its now called, Hollow Bastion, yes... yes... yes..." I started laughing. "I've been sitting on the sideline for far too long now, far too long. It's time I got a piece of the action, its time I had some... fun."

I pulled my hood over my face and opened a corridor of darkness, my destination, Hollow Bastion. I stepped through the corridor contemplating the events that were about to transpire, and began formulating the consequences, but I disregarded all of them, not only did I need to gauge the Keyblade's power, I needed to let loose. After all, what good is all the power in the world, if you lock it up and seal it away.

I stepped through the corridor's exit and immediately stepped through Sora. His memories cascaded through my mind like a torrent.

"The Island!"

"A Key, blade?"

"All for one-"

"-and one for all"

"KAIRI!"

"RIKU"

"SORA!"

"My friends are my power!"

I smirked as he fell to the floor.

"What?" He asked regaining his footing.

"Interesting..." I said, referring to his memories.

"Who are you?" Sora asked me, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Who am I?" I almost asked in response. "My name is of no importance."

"Ansem?" The dog, what was his name... Goofy asked.

"How long has it been... since I abandoned that name?" I wondered, channeling my ether powers into my arm "... He looks a lot like you" I told him, referring to Roxas.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked.

Before answering his question, I turned around and fired the energy I had been charging up at him, its plasma blue rage rocketing towards the Keybearer, ready to destroy him. But Sora was smarter than I had given him credit for, he had anticipated my attack and had summoned his Keyblade to deflect the energy. It bounced off of his Keyblade and was sent flying into a near by structure.

"The Keyblade... a truly marvelous weapon." I marveled, even as he went into his combat stance "If only it were in more capable hands."

I summoned my Ethereal Blades, their crimson glory illuminating the battlefield. I entered my fighting stance, preparing to fight the Keyblade wielder.

"Perhaps..." I started, "Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart."

"We'll see about that," Sora said charging at me.

* * *

><p>Axel POV, Laboratory ruins<p>

"Man look at this place," I said moving some burnt debris behind. "That explosion must've been pretty bad."

"Most of the lab was already charcoaled by the time Demyx put out the fire." Vexen said sorting through some burnt files.

"Just look at all this-" I said sorting through some of Zexion's stuff "-burnt files-" I said tossing some blackened files aside "-burnt records-" I said tossing some burnt record books behind me "-even burnt experiments." I said flinging some strange mechanical orb behind me.

"OW!" Vexen yelled.

"Sorry Vexen," I apologized.

"What's your point Axel?" Lexaeus asked, cutting up some of the Debris with his Axe Blade.

"Just stop, and look around you." I instructed my companions. "Tell me what you see."

Lexaeus and Vexen paused for a moment and looked all around the room. They stared at absolutely everything in the room, from the damaged stasis tubes, to the burnt computers, they took it all in.

"I see nothing but lost research data." Vexen explained.. "All because of a fools in competence."

"Thank you ever so much Vexen," I said rolling my eyes. "And you Lexaeus?"

Lexaeus took one, final look around the room "Destruction." he said. "I see destruction"

"Exactly!" I said "Look around, a roaring fire rages through the castle. A burning, blazing storm of destruction preceded by an explosion responsible for 60% of the blackened lab we are currently standing in. Its a huge black spot in a pure white castle."

"And?" Vexen asked confusion evident in his voice.

"And what's the one thing that pops out of this hell fire that's completely unharmed?" I asked "Without even a scar?"

Vexen just raised an eyebrow at my comments. However silent but clever Lexaeus' eye's widened with shock.

"Zexion" Lexaeus said.

"Exactly." I said clapping slowly, my face turning serious "Zexion shouldn't have survived that explosion... and I don't think he did."

* * *

><p>Roxas POV, outside infirmary<p>

"I hope he's okay." I wondered waiting outside the infirmary.

"Roxas, we should go back to sleep." Xion said worried.

"It's okay Xion," I reassured her. "Everyone else is asleep, so no one is going to know we were here."

I turned to stare at the door to the infirmary, it's pale white frame blending in perfectly with the rest of the castle. What had happened to Zexion? Why was his lab in flames? What had he been doing? I was worried about Zexion, the most contact I had had with him was when we were assigned on a mission together, I had learned about how my mission rewards could be increased by a certain amount by fulfilling my mission to its fullest. But I was still concerned about his well being.

"I'm going in, I want to see if he's okay." I told Xion.

"No Roxas, don't!" she said.

I reached for the doorknob, despite Xion's warnings. As soon as my hand touched the door knob electricity surge through my. I saw something, something I couldn't explain, I saw Zexion, floating, no drowning, in a sea of darkness. His silver hair flowing across his face, allowing both of his eyes to be visible for the first time I had seen him.

"Zexion! He's in trouble," I said yanking the door open.

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

"... Never mind," I apologized. "Just paranoid."

I turned and walked away, a little embarrassed at what had occurred. I had yanked the door open intent on rescuing my fellow Nobody... only to discover he was fine, sound asleep in his bed like a child.

* * *

><p>Zexion POV, ?<p>

"Something's not right." I thought to myself. "HOW AM I BREATHING?"

I had given into destiny and accepted my fate in a watery grave, only to discover my efforts to hold my breath were wasted, for I had no problem breathing. In fact, I was probably breathing cleaner 'air' than I was before I sank. Secondly, this 'water' wasn't affecting my vision, it didn't even feel wet anymore. I had just been falling, probably for about an hour, into this sea of Darkness.

"There should be a bottom." I said out loud looking down into the abyss of shadow. "Well, as they say 'when you hit rock bottom the only place left to go is up.' Maybe going to the bottom of this chasm will help me get out. Let's find out"

I turned around and started kicking, but it wasn't necessary, as soon as I turned around I had picked up speed. Now I was rocketing through the darkness, almost like a vessel falling into the depths of the ocean.

"You are unafraid?" A mysterious voice asked.

"Who is that?" I asked, ignoring their question.

"You are unafraid?" the voice repeated.

"Even if I could be afraid of something, what's there to be afraid of?" I asked in return. "There is nothing here to fear, it's just the Darkness. I'm a Nobody, I have no Heart, so no fear."

"Yet" The voice said.

"I don't think I follow you." I told the voice.

"You're heart is still forming" The voice said.

"WHAT?" I shouted, hearing it echo in the darkness.

"You were not supposed to go through the Dive until you're heart is finished." The voice informed me.

"My heart... is forming?" I slowly asked the voice, confusion clearly present in my voice then it dawned on me. "The Heartless? Was it... mine?" I murmured to myself.

"But a... complication occurred. Before your heart, body, and soul finished remerging, they were ripped apart and slammed back together." the voice explained.

As the voice paused I remembered something important. "I was killed in the explosion." I looked at my left arm "I saw it. This arm flaked away in pieces of light in the explosion, followed by the rest of my body. So... even if I was reforming into Ienzo... I should still be dead," I thought.

"This... unconventional process of reformation has awakened strange powers inside of you. Normally you would be required to make contact with the blade of a master in order to gain a blade of your own," The voice told me.

"Blade? What blade?" I shouted into the darkness.

"But your now sensitive heart seems to have obtained a blade simply by being in the presence of a master in days past. Now, not only are you going through the dive to obtain the Blade, you are going through it while your heart is forming and with no master to guide you... this is all happening too quickly..." The voice trailed off.

"What BLADE?" I shouted.

"Very well, faithful wielder of the Blade of light. We need you, your heart is threatened by the darkness within it. You must now assist in the reformation of your heart. Banish the shadows that creep inside of you, survive the trials of the and complete the tasks you have been assigned to prove yourself worthy-" The voice said.

"Wait what are you talking about-" I started.

"And do not fear, the light and all who serve it will guide and protect you in ways you cannot imagine," The voice concluded, it's voice bounding around the endless Sea of Darkness with a tone of definitive finality.

Next thing I knew and unknown force slammed into my, forcing me from a diving position into an upright one (however I was still swiftly falling through the darkness.) Next thing I knew, a beam of bright and vibrant lavender light shot forth from an unknown source in the darkness and hit my left hand, enveloping it in a thin lavender.

"The power of the mystics, sample it now as you battle the darkness," A new voice, a young girls voice, spoke.

"What?" I asked again.

A figure darted at me from the darkness, wielding some kind of sword, managing to cut my face. Blood flowed in the "water" around me, temporarily obscuring my vision with a red cloud. I used my right hand to move the blood away from my face. What I saw when it was gone shocked me, an Invisible. A very powerful Pureblood Heartless, at first glance they do not appear to be dangerous, as they are only the size of a human adult (not included the extensive muscles), but they are one of the only Heartless to wield any kind of artificial weapon. In this case a sword, a short blue bladed sword that sat in its left hand with the Japanese word for "Hard rock" carved near its hilt.

"What do I do here?" I asked

"Sample the power of the mystics" The girl's voice said again

"Is it really that simple?" I shouted as the invisible prepped its fighting stance "I mean, do I just yell Fire and expect a giant ball of flame to burst forth from my hand?"

The moment the word 'fire left my mouth a class four fire spell (Firagun) launched itself from my hand and blasted the Invisible's sword, the sword became so hot the invisible had to start bouncing the sword between each hand. I stared at my left hand, was it really so simple, I could wield class four magic simply by speaking its name?

"Well let's find out" I said staring at the invisible

The Invisible have me an evil smile and stopped bouncing its sword between its hands and charged at me

"Vanish" I said aloud, causing my body to blend with the shadows

* * *

><p>Axel POV<p>

"What you're saying is preposterous Axel!" Vexen exclaimed as we entered the hallway that lead to the infirmary

"Is it really Vexen? Is it really?" I asked in response

"He has point Vexen." Lexaeus said, backing me up "Zexion controlled a mental power, not a physical one, there was no way an illusion could save him from the explosion."

"Besides Vexen, we're not going to incinerate Zexy just yet, we just gotta make sure that its really him in there, I'll admit there is a chance it's still Zexion..." I said Grasping the door handle "... But just a chance"

I yanked the door open and saw Zexion laying on bed... head facing away from the headrest, one foot dangling on the edge of the bed, the other forced up the headrest, a trail of drool coming from his mouth, and the entire bed a mess.

"Well, we know one thing..." I started "If this is Zexion, we know why he has to wake up early before the meetings."

We heard the sound of a camera shutter and turned to see Xigbar holding a camera.

"What're you doing here Xigbar?" Vexen asked

"Hey, the Moogle will pay on gold for pictures like these, I can finally win back the watch Luxord took from me in poker." He said taking a couple more pictures

"Save the snapshots for later Xiggy" I instructed him, walking over to 'Zexion's' sleeping form

"Yo Zexy, you awake?" I asked

His eyes snapped open faster than one of Larxene's lightning bolt's "What do you want Axel?" he asked

"I have some questions for you Zex-" I stopped mid-sentence and found myself staring at him, something was different, something almost maliciously different, and I didn't like the dark look he was giving me.

Zexy got up out of the bed "Is there a problem Axel?" he asked

"You're... different, something's changed" I told him

"Whatever are you talking about Axel?" he questioned, getting off of bed and putting on his shoes

"I'm not... sure." I replied

"Is Xemnas here?" He asked the other Nobodies in the room

"Unfortunately the Superior has left on an assignment on his own." Vexen told him as I pondered what was different about the Cloaked Schemer

"How... convenient" Zexion remarked, laughing darkly "Now, excuse me. I have something I must do"

As he turned to leave I took this window too look at all the features Zexion had and all the things I was noticing, trying to find out what was different. His heels clicked against the stone floor and felt rushed to try and figure out what was wrong. Then it hit me, I summoned my Chakram and entered by battle stance.

"Is there a problem Axel?" 'Zexion' asked me

"Yeah, I finally figured out what was so different about you now." I said

"What might that be?" he asked

"It's your eyes" I told him staring at them "They were blue before."

"And now?" He questioned

I narrowed my eyes "They're orange."

Zexion laughed evilly, clapping "Well done Lea" He said, his voice overlapped with one I had hoped never to hear again "I was hoping no one would be astute enough to see through my deception, but I see you know Zexion well enough. A pity he can't be here to congratulate you himself, he's going through a rather... strenuous trial."

"No... not you." I nearly screamed upon hearing my real name

"What are you talking about Axel?" Vexen asked "Zexion, cut the tricks, we know this is your illusion powers at work here"

Slowly and ominously, Zexion turned his head towards Vexen. He smiled a smile so evil, that even Maleficent would've considered it the look of a killer. His lab coat morphed into a black jacket with a yellow outline, the outline of an emblem heartless crest appeared on his forehead, and his orange eyes pulsed with a malevolent evil.

"Zexion's not here right now. But Ansem wouldn't mind taking a message for you." He said

* * *

><p>Zexion POV<p>

"Let's end this!" I shouted at the Invisible, channelling all of my magical power into my left hand

The Invisible charged at me, sword glowing with dark energy

"Holy Light!" I shouted raising my fist as it glowed with Light energy "Come on!" I shouted jabbing the Invisible with the energy

My hand penetrated the Invisible's chest and caused the rest of it's ebony black body to flare up in a blaze of glorious white light as it faded away. As it's body faded away into nothingness I saw a strange, blue orb floating at the core of its being. I was puzzled, Emblem Heartless release captured Hearts when they die, but Purebloods release nothing upon death.

"What is that?" I asked reaching out with my left hand, as soon as my hand made contact with the orb it retracted, and then it shot down like a rocket into the darkness, about five feet away from me.

I raised my eyebrow as it flattened into a disk, the disk started spinning, it began to pick up speed. It started to expand, it grew larger, and larger, and larger still, to the point where I thought I was shrinking. Then, it flared up in a beautiful flash of rainbow light, no a rainbow doesn't even begin to describe the spectral brilliance of multi-colored light that blazed before me. A sight so beautiful that would make even the blackest of hearts weep in the presence of its luminous magnificence.

"Its beautiful." I whispered

Then there was a flash of light so vibrant and powerful I had to cover my eyes from to prevent from going blind. The light slowly started to fade, replaced by ever present darkness that covered this space that I was supposed to believe was my "Heart". I slowly opened my eyes and was taken back by what they saw when they were opened. A pillar of glass stood before me, snow white glass that shone in the darkness.

"The 1st test is complete" the female voice said as I slowly drifted down onto the pillar

"Test?" I asked

"You maintained your cool while battling a powerful enemy, and while spiraling through the darkness." she said

"I had a lot of power." I told her glancing at my left hand as the lavender glow slowly faded away leaving a purple heart outlined on the back of my hand.

"You are mistaken." She said "The power we gave you was merely for you to sample, the true power of the mystic is much more powerful and far more potent." She said

"I see..." I remarked staring at my left hand, wondering what the full power would be like. "Where am I?"

"You are standing within the Station of Serenity." a new voice, male this time, spoke from within the darkness

"Who are you?" I asked

"I am the spirit of the Warrior." The voice spoke "The spirit you spoke to last was the spirit of the Mystics."

"Alright I guess." I reluctantly decided that the answer given would have to be the answer I take "I want to know more about this station. The Station of Serenity."

"...It is where the trials to rid your heart of darkness continue" The voice said

A needle of sky blue light shot out of the darkness latched itself into my left hand, slowly it transformed into a blazing blue sword of pure light.

"Now we're talking." I remarked, observing the sword "Good thing I'm left handed."

"This is the power of the Warrior, sample it now as you banish the darkness." The spirit of the warrior said to me

"Okay well I mean its just a sword but I'll-wait what?" I shouted

"The closer you get to the light, the darker your shadow becomes." the voice told me

With a trembling head I slowly turned to look at my shadow, only to see it started to expand and grow. It started to change and morph in a shadowy amalgam of darkness, until it took the form of a monster the Organization has many reports on.

"A Darkside?" I shouted as the shadow left the ground

Darksides were notorious among the Organization, they were most often the Heartless that lead the attacks at the heart of the world. I backed away slowly as it raised its black fist, afraid of the monstrous black behemoth that towered before me.

"Banish the shadows" The spirit of the warrior instructed me

"With just a glowly light sword thingy?" I shouted

The Darkside launched its fist at me. By instinct I raised the light sword with the tip facing the Darkside's incoming fist. What happened next shocked me, I expected the sword to break under the Darkside's strength, but the Darkside's fist plunged into the sword and its entire right arm vanished. It stared at the spot its arm used to be, anger flaring in its yellow eyes.

"Ok... that was awesome" I said staring at the sword "Let me guess, power of the warrior right."

"Sample it now" the voice repeated

The Darkside raised its fist to attack again. Knowing that letting it hurt itself with the Keyblade I dodged its fist, which wasn't easy. Unlike the Invisible battle I wasn't falling through the sea of darkness, there was a floor here, which means I tripped on my lab coat and was struck by some shattered glass as the Darkside's fist connected with the floor.

"Darn." I side wiping some blood off my face after one of the shards cut my face "My lab coat is messing me up. Compared to the way I fight with this thing on I'd do better in a jacket and a pair of jeans."

The moment 'a jacket and pair of jeans' left my mouth my lab coat glowed a radiant shade of teal blue. When it faded, a dark blue jacket with two white stripes on each sleeve, a red t-shirt, and navy blue jeans had taken the place of my former attire. I was also wearing a silver necklace made of small silver chains with the outline of a Heart pendant attached.

"Power of the Warrior let's me change clothes?" I asked

"Magic clothes." The voice said

"Sure whatever." I said glancing at the Darkside's fist, which had become the center of a dark portal "That can't be good."

Several Shadow Heartless crawled out of the portal the Darkside had summoned and began to crawl towards me. I raised the sword and started attacking the Purebloods. They disintegrated into the shadows as soon as the sword made contact with them. The sword was perfectly balanced and cut through the Heartless as if they weren't there, the blade's edge wasn't particularly sharp but the Heartless disintegrated when they made contact, so I'm not going to touch it.

* * *

><p>Axel POV<p>

"Zexion, stop acting this instant!" Vexen ordered

"I don't take orders from you Even." Ansem-Zexion said

"What's going on Axel?" Lexaeus asked summoning his Axe blade

"Aeleus, strong but silent, could never see a problem if it came up and bit him in the face." Ansem-Zexion said, darkness growing in his left hand

"Hey Axel, what's going on? Why is Zexion talking like that?" Xigbar asked summoning his arrow guns

"I'm heartbroken Braig, you don't recognize me?" Ansem-Zexion asked, summoning a grey Keyblade

"A Keyblade? But how?" Vexen asked

"No time for that now. We need to get out of here." I yelled at the others

"Oh please, you four Nobodies aren't going to escape this place alive." Ansem-Zexion said raising the Keyblade to fighting stance

"How'd you do it Ansem?" I asked "How'd you take control of the heart of someone who doesn't have one."

Ansem-Zexion Smiled "Your friend is smarter than you could possibly imagine. He discovered a way to lure in the Heartless. So I allowed one particular Heartless to meet him in his laboratory as a way to... humor him."

"What does he mean by one particular Heartless Axel?" Vexen asked, only now getting his shield out

"... His own." I told them

"What does that mean Axel?" Ansem-Zexion said "Tell me, what does it mean?"

"It means Zexion didn't survive the explosion, Ienzo did." I told them "He became whole again."

"But that's impossible." Vexen shouted

"But it happened!" I yelled at him

"And then through a series of... interesting events, his heart became open to me." Ansem-Zexion said

"And you jumped right in and took over." I finished

"Exactly." he said "Now excuse me, this is only a fragment of my consciousness and I must stabilize it. I've wasted enough time here." he raised his Keyblade "I have a destiny to fulfill."

"Any chance the four of us can take him on?" Xigbar asked

"Nope." I said "This is the Superior's Heartless we're dealing with."

"What about twelve Nobodies, two wielding the Keyblade?" Xigbar asked

"... That might work." I admitted

Xigbar nodded, turned around, and opened a Corridor of Darkness "Then go."

"What?" Vexen yelled

"You guys go, get the others. You'll stand a better chance together." He said

"But Xigbar-" I started

"JUST GO!" He shouted "Besides, I've got a few things to say to this guy."

"But-" Vexen started

"Don't argue with him Vexen." Lexaeus said grabbing him and running into the corridor

"You don't have to win Xigbar." I said running to the corridor "Just survive."

* * *

><p>Xigbar POV<p>

"Alright Zexy, just you and me." I said loading my arrowguns

"Zexion's not here." Ansem-Zexion said, a dark shadow appearing behind him "He's been consumed by the Darkness within him!" he charged forward swinging the Dark Keyblade

"You owe me answers old man!" I shouted firing my arrowguns

"Answers to what?" Ansem-Zexion asked deflecting the Spatial Arrows with his Keyblade

"Which one are you?" I asked

"Explain that?" Ansem-Zexion inquired

"Are you Terra or are you Xehanort?" I asked

"Wha-" he started, my question catching him off guard

I raised my arrowgun and pointed one dead at his chest "Gotcha" I fired the spatial arrow and it struck Ansem-Zexion, detonating on impact and knocking him back into the door, breaking its hinges and sending him flying back into the castle's corridor

Smiling, I jumped over his body and began running away from the infirmary "You think I'd actually fight you on my own?"

* * *

><p>Ansem-Zexion<p>

I growled "Braig, how did he remember my true name?" I asked slowly standing up, my chest crackling with dark power, suddenly there was a faint pulse of light in my chest "No, Zexion can't be done with Trials already. No matter, should he make it to the Station of awakening, I will fight him myself." I stood up and brushed off the leftover spatial energy that had remained on Zexion's body. I felt an enormous migraine in my head as received an update my main body, I slowly smiled "It is time to open the door to Kingdom Hearts"

* * *

><p>Zexion POV<p>

"Let's finish this!" I shouted

In truth the plan I was about to enact was risky and probably wouldn't work. I had noticed that when the Darkside had its hand generating a portal that it was unable to remove its hand from and keep the portal intact, so I reasoned that I could try and land a head shot by climbing up its arm. But it figured out what I was doing and simply canceled the portal.

"So if it can't cancel the portal, it can't stop me." I said aloud

The Darkside raised it's fist and dark energy began to charge up its fist. If I didn't stop it now the Heartless it would summon would be unstoppable. Its fist pulsed one final time with the power of darkness, and the Darkside brought his fist down upon me.

"It's now or never:" I admitted Cartwheeling out of the way to avoid its fist

The portal had opened up and I could just barely make out the forms of the first few Shadow's. I jumped up into the air and mentally targeted the Darkside's hand. I raised the blade, and swung down with all the force I could, it flew straight down at the Darkside's fist, and pierced its fist, cutting through the night black skin, and embedding itself into the floor. The Darkside tried to remove its fist and cancel the portal, but it found that the sword would not budge, and since it had no other arm, it couldn't pull the sword out.

"Alright, let's finish this up." I muttered, I landed on its hand and raced up its arm

The Darkside saw what I was trying to do and started to panic, but it couldn't do anything. I climbed up its arm, took a position directly behind it's ugly black head, and resummoned my blade to my hand. I plunged the blade's tip into the head of the Darkside, the blue tip that pierced the Darkside right between the eyes was followed by faint streams of black darkness that could accurately be described as its blood.

As the battered and beaten body fell over into the Station of Awakening, the sword vanished in a flash of light, and the Darkside's body began to pulse gold, until it had transformed into a single being of pure light. It fell into the pillar, and again a spectral glow filled the world within my heart. It intensified, the full spectrum of light flashed with the brilliance of a thousand stars, and then it was slowly replaced by a moderate blue glare, and then it faded away entirely. As I gently floated down onto the pillar I timidly opened my eyes. The sight I saw confused me, I saw a boy, a young boy with brown spiky hair and the Kingdom Keyblade, he appeared to be sleeping, and to his left were four people I didn't recognize.

"Who are they?" I asked

"They are of no importance. Yet" A new voice said

" Why?" I asked

"They are from your future" The voice said "Remember, your Heart is sensitive to temporal energy."

"Okay, so now what?" I asked "Are the trials over?"

"...No" The voice said

To my left, steps of molten glass began to materialize

"I thought I had reformed my Heart, why are there still molten pieces of glass?" I asked

"Your heart is only half formed. But do not concern yourself with that place, the next trial will take place here." the voice explained "Rest for now, the Station of Serenity is a place of relaxation. Rest, recover, you've earned it, and you'll earn the blade of light if you survive the last trial, and rid your heart of darkness."

Upon hearing this my body suddenly gave way, and I collapsed onto the Station of Serenity, breathing deeply and sweating like a dog. I started laughing, my father had once told me, that only after a battle is over, do you have time to worry about the scars of war. I had fought an Invisible, and a Darkside, one right after the other with no time for rest. I decided then and there, that twenty minutes would be enough time to catch my breath.

"I wonder what's happening back at the castle?" I wondered out loud

* * *

><p>Ansem-Zexion POV<p>

I stepped out of the castle and looked around. This was nothing like the world I had made my home base, End of The World was nothing like this amazing paradise that loomed before me, for this world was the equilibrium between the light and shadow's but truly a perfect domain.

"Xemnas has been busy in these last ten years." I spoke aloud

My, or rather Zexion's, eyes scanned the horizon, looking for an area of open land. At last I found a spot at the edge of the castle. A spire, stretching up into a platform to touch the pale black sky, was the perfect plot of open terrain for me to reach the conclusion of my possession.

"Once the possession has been completed," I remarked "and Kingdom Hearts is opened here, I can break away from the main entity, and create a force of power all my own. One that transcends the mere simplicity of light and darkness."

I walked over to the spire only to be met with a rain of spatial arrows.

"Dark Barrier" I chanted, conjuring a barrier of darkness around me that blocked all the arrows before they succeeded in striking me

"Well, well, well, look who's back." A voice mocked

I turned my head up and saw the entire Organization, glaring at me.

"Well, isn't this a wonderful surprise. I see some new faces. But its good to see you, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Lea, and Isa." I said

"Those aren't our names any more." Saix said drawing his claymore

"Forgive me, those are the name I remember." I said

"There are thirteen of us and only one of you" Xigbar said reloading his Arrowguns "We're going to win"

"We'll see about that." I said summoning my Keyblade

"You neglected to mention this to us Axel." A yellow haired female said summoning throwing knives "You never mentioned Zexion could use the Keyblade." A pink haired male said

"You know now" I said charging swinging the Keyblade at Xigbar, only to have it blocked by Lexaeus' Axe blade "Stand aside Aeleus" I ordered

"Don't count on it" Lexaeus said kicking me in the chest knocking me backwards on to my back

The yellow haired girl ported in a flare of lightning so that she was directly behind me, I whistled "Now you are attractive." I said

"Don't think that's going to work." the girl said taking one of her knives and plunging it at my head

"I mean it" I said dodge rolling away so her fist would hit the floor "I like the lust for destruction you carry in your eyes."

I wasn't trying to manipulate her, I actually meant it. The raw anger I saw in her eyes despite being a Nobody, the urge for pain, and the hunger for destruction, I was attracted to it.

"Shut up" She said throwing Thundaga spells at me as I leapt backwards up the stairs, dodging her thunderbolts

"No, unlike your associates I know a strong woman when I see one." I said, cartwheeling to the side when Xaldin attempted to stab me with his lances

"Not going to work. You words are falling on deaf ears" she said hurling more knives at me

"A pity, having a strong, and powerful Nobody at my side would be excellent for battle." I said deflecting her knives with my keyblade, and hurling a Dark Firaga spell at Vexen's shield

"Even if would consider accepting your deal, what would it get me?" She asked

"How about what Zexion has?" I asked her "A heart."

She paused, almost shocked by my offer

I left her to ponder my offer, cartwheeling up the steps, dodging Axel's chakrams, Saix's claymore, Xaldin's Lances, Lexaeus' Axe Blade, and even Xigbar's spatial arrows. I also had to dodge strange weapons, like cards, and dancing musical notes shaped from water.

"How is he dodging all of this?" Axel shouted flinging his Chakrams again

"I'm just that good" I said hitting his Chakrams with the Keyblade, causing them to rebound back at Axel

"Not good enough" A deep voice said

I turned around just in time to block a huge scythe that came down at me, the wielder was a pink haired male with a malicious smile on his face.

"Who are you?" I asked

"Interesting..." he said attempting to slash me with the Scythe again

"What is?" I asked, preforming a backwards flip to avoid his Scythe

"You are very, powerful." the Man said

"Thank you" I said charging Dark energy at the tip of my Keyblade

"So very, very powerful" He said, charging a malevolent pink energy at the end of his scythe

"Save it" I said launching a Dark Firaga at him

He sung his scythe forward, causing a huge beam of energy to fly forth, disintegrating my dark fire spell.

I gasped, and Cartwheeled out of the way before it hit me "Who are you?" I asked again after I had regained my footing.

"I am, Marluxia, Number XI." he said raising his scythe

"Without Xemnas, he is the strongest one among us" Xaldin admitted

"I see..." I said intensifying my dark aura "Than maybe I have to level the playing field!" my aura flared up around me, shrouding my form in a Dark glow

I charged forward and swung the Keyblade down on Marluxia's Scythe, causing it to break in two. I smiled as my Keyblade was about to pass through the Nobody's core, but then something strange happened, I fell straight through Marluxia, I felt him take something from me, but I wasn't concerned with that. I ran forward ignoring the man I had left behind.

* * *

><p>Marluxia POV<p>

I smirked as Ansem-Zexion ran forward ignoring me entirely, too focused on his own agenda. I lifted a single card up to the light, my smile growing wider.

"Just a fragment of Ansem, a fragment of his power, yet so much. Go on, run little Zexy. Win this battle today, I'll even help you win, but keep this in mind," I said putting the card away, and fixing my Scythe with magic "The winner of the war is not the one that wins the battle, or even the one who wins the most battles. The one who wins the war, is the one who wins the last battle."

I turned my head to see him run farther up the stairs "And that winner-" I said smirking "-will be me."

* * *

><p>Ansem-Zexion POV<p>

"Come on Isa!" I shouted striking his Claymore with my Keyblade "You can do better than that!"

"My name is Saix!" He shouted striking back with his Claymore

"Is that the name Xem-xem gave you?" I asked sarcastically

"Shut IT!" he said, unleashing a wave of blue energy in my direction

"Hmph" I huffed, calling upon a dark shield to deflect the energy "You can do better than that Isa!"

"Axel now!" Saix shouted

"What?" I turned around and saw Axel swing up from underneath the staircase, using the railing with both his Chakrams in one hand

"Burn and DIE!" He shouted flinging them at me

I cartwheel to my side in an attempt to dodge his Chakrams, but I fell into a trap. Lexaeus was waiting for me with his Axe Blade raised, he swung the Axe blade and I rolled in the air, his Axe blade just barely missing my head. I used my reversal skill to maneuver behind him and hit him on the back of the head with the Keyblade.

"One down, twelve to go." I said smirking

I turned around and ran up the stairs at full speed, I was running out of time. I had to make it to the top and summon Kingdom Hearts before it was too late. I reached the top and saw what I realized was their last line of defense.

I chuckled "This is it? A small boy and girl?" I asked aloud

"Zexion, please don't do this." The boy said

"Zexion's not here." I told them

"Fight it Zexion, fight it!" The girl said

A pulse of light flashed within my head, followed by three more "Has he reached the final trial already?" I thought

"You can do it Zexion!" The boy shouted

A pulse of Light obscured my vision "You're not going to win!" a voice said

"No... impossible, I must be imagining things" I thought

I brought my Keyblade down upon the boy, only to be met with unexpected resistance.

"Impossible!" I shouted

"Believe it" He said

"Why do you have the Keyblade?" I shouted jumping backwards

He smirked and I noticed something, the black haired girl, she also had the Keyblade. I could not fathom how this was possible. But then I noticed, something in the boy's face. I started to laugh.

"Of course" I said shaking my head "Ventus"

"What?" The boy asked

I chuckled "He looks a lot like you" I said summoning an orb of Purple energy

"What?" The boy repeated

"Or..." I started "Is it that you look a lot like him?"

"What are you saying?" The boy asked

"Pft, it doesn't matter." I said raising the hand containing the orb "Because soon, it will all END!"

The orb jettisoned itself from my hand and into the empty sky, where it expanded, almost two hundred times its current size, forming a malevolent purple moon in the night sky.

"Soon... very soon, the power of Kingdom Hearts will flood this world, and destroy it entirely, then I will be separated from the main collective mind of the being known as Ansem." I reached my hand out towards the orb and closed it into a fist "The power of Kingdom Hearts will then create a new power, one that is neither light nor darkness! And that power, will soon belong to me."

"Not if we have anything to say about it." a voice said behind me

I turned and saw the entire Organization, even Lexaeus, standing behind me, weapons at the ready.

"We don't know what this new power is-" Saix started

"But you can be sure of one thing-" Xigbar continued

"You will not be allowed to obtain it." Vexen finished

"Larxene," Marluxia said to the yellow haired girl "Have you put any thought into his offer?"

"Yeah, thoughts like 'no way' or 'never'." She told him

"A pity" I said raising my Keyblade "I hate destroying potential partners."

"Fight it Zexion!" a boy with a Sitar yelled "Come on man I know you're in there! Fight it!"

"Zexion's heart has been extinguished!"" I shouted, surrounding myself in an aura of darkness "Smothered by the Darkness within him!"

* * *

><p>Zexion POV<p>

"How did this happen?" I thought while running up the molten glass steps that lead to the next Station

I had been resting in the Station of Serenity when I heard a voice, Roxas' voice calling out to me. Then, I saw something through my body's eyes, a strange looking keyblade, that was turned on Roxas. I had put the pieces of the puzzle together and realized that while I was here trying to fight off the darkness within me, someone was out there, in my body, fighting my friends in the Organization. But who they were, and what they were after I didn't know, all I did know was that I couldn't let him win.

"You are not ready for the final trial" The female voice that was the Spirit of the Mystic

"I don't care" I said, leaping up the steps two at a time

"You are not ready." The male voice, Spirit of the Warrior said to me

"I don't care." I shouted at him

"The darkness is too powerful" the spirit of the guardian said to me

"I don't care" I said

"Then let the trial begin." The voices said in unison as I reached the final station

I looked at the station. Unlike the Station of Serenity, which was simply a single white pillar, this station was molten glass, no defined shape, and cracks all across its surface. Its orange red light stretching across the vastness of this space. Smack in the middle of the station was a huge crack, that stretched across the entirety of the station.

"This must be where my heart slammed back together." I thought aloud

"Indeed." A voice said from the darkness

"Who's there?" I asked/shouted

A corridor of darkness opened up in the center of the room, a figure slowly began to walk out of it. His silver hair flowing behind him, a malevolent Guardian wrapped in bandages floating maliciously behind him, and the Heartless insignia emblazoned on his chest. A figure I knew, and recognized.

"Ansem" I said, glaring at him

"You remember my name, how kind." Ansem said

"Why are you here?" I yelled

"I saw an opening when your Heart was slammed back together. I came in, and now this Heart belongs to me, and to the Darkness." he said

"No, this Heart belongs to me." I said

"Then you're ready, for the final trial?" he asked

I nodded "Yes"

I raised my fists to fight him, and he started laughing "You mean to fight me hand to hand."

"Yep" I told him

"You have magic yet, you are going to fight me hand to hand?" Ansem asked, curious

"I don't have magic, Ienzo didn't have magic, so reformed Zexion won't." I explained

"Ah that's right, you never learned real magic, your Lexicon taught it to you." Ansem concluded

"But that's not going to stop me." I said

"You truly are a fool Zexion." Ansem repeated "Give into me and my darkness, I could grant you great power."

I shook my head "Any power you have to offer me I don't want."

"Stop, and think." He told me "Even if you beat me, what next, your fellow Organization associates would simply dissect you and find a way to repeat the process on themselves."

Again I shook my head "No, I would be welcomed back a Hero, the first among us to regain his Heart. I would then preform some experiments with Vexen, and continue with the mission to help the others."

"You would assist them when you already have what you want?" Ansem yelled

I nodded this time "Yes, because they are my friends."

"Please, you only know five of them." Ansem retorted

"No, I know them all. I know them from when I was a Nobody, I know them as a somebody. They are my friends" I paused and placed my left hand over my heart "And I'm theirs."

"As if, you just represent something they crave to become, a complete being." He said

"No, they are apart of my heart and..." I paused and looked down at my Heart

"And what?" Ansem asked

I looked up at him and smiled, a true smile, my first true smile in over ten years "And one day I'll be apart of theirs"

"Oh please, you're just a child" He said raising his hands and summoning darkness

"You're just a pathetic fragment of a person's mind seeking individuality, you have no power." I said ignoring the yellow glow surrounding my body

"I have enough power to defeat you." He said, not taken back by the glow

"No." I said charging at him "You don't." I shouted extending my fist

He summoned his shadowy guardian to defend himself, but then, something amazing happened, a beam of light shot forth from my hand and sent itself straight through, not only the guardian, but Ansem himself.

"What? But-how?" Ansem asked

"How what?" I asked "You think I know?"

"The blade, should not have chosen you!" he said

"What are you talking about?" I asked again

It was then I realized the beam of light was in fact a sword of some sort, for it had remained in my hand and had not expanded into the darkness as a regular beam of light would've. The glow that blade had started to emit became weaker, and weaker, until in my hand I finally saw the blade of light everyone had been talking about. For shining as a light amongst the endless shadow, was a blade shaped similarly to a giant key.

"What?" I shouted aloud

"No!" Ansem shouted, the light starting to destroy him "You have not seen the last of me!"

"Worthy wielder of the Keyblade" an amalgam of the voices that spoke to me before said, as Ansem screamed and faded into the shadows "You have shown that you're heart is pure, you are worthy."

A column of light shot out of the ground and started to expand across the room. I felt no need to shield my eyes from this spectral display, for I wanted to see the end result. As the light reached the edges of the pillar, I saw the final completed version of my heart. The molten glass had hardened into an image, like the station of serenity, it was me. Sleeping, holding the Keyblade, to my left were three unfamiliar people, I recognized one as the boy from the Station of Serenity, but the other two were unknown.

"Who are these people?" I asked

"One day." The voices said "They will be your best friends."

"...Where am I?" I asked, ignoring the cryptic language of the voices

"You are in the Station of Unity, a place within your heart." The voices said "But now is the time for you to awaken, for your journey, has only just begun."

A radiant glow erupted from all around me. It engulfed me in its light, and began to carry me away from this place. I smiled as I shot through the darkness, it was time to go home, but more importantly, time to see what damage Ansem has done in my body.

* * *

><p>Roxas POV<p>

I gasped as my knees buckled, causing me to hit the ground. I used my Keyblade to support my weight. I glanced around the scarred battlefield, Lexaeus and Vexen had been taken out in the early rounds of the fight, they lay on the steps, their black coat's gashed and shredded, while being cared for by the lesser Nobodies. I glanced towards the left edge of the field, there lay Larxene, Xigbar, and Xaldin, unconscious but alive. To the right of the field lay Luxord, his cards scattered over his coat, and Demyx, his sitar broken over his head.

"Roxas..." a voice moaned

I turned to see Xion, who had a nasty cut across her face "How... is... Axel?" she managed to croak out

I turned back to the Flurry of Dancing flames, he Saix, and Marluxia were still battling Zexion, or rather, Zexion possessed by Ansem. Marluxia had barely broken a sweat, his pink hair flowing gracefully behind him as his Scythe did battle with Ansem's dark Keyblade. Where as Axel looked as if he had walked right out of a swimming pool, his red spikes were all but completely deflated, and his black coat soaking wet. Saix should've stepped down an hour ago but he just kept going. His coat was torn and gashed, his left side bleeding profusely, and Ansem had decided to cut him straight across the his scar, causing more blood to fall off him.

"Axel's okay." I reassured her "Sweaty, but okay."

"That's... good." She said closing her eyes

"Rest well Xion" I told her

I clenched my fist and stood up, I turned to face Ansem-Zexion, and my eyes narrowed.

"ANSEM!" I shouted, charging forward with the Keyblade

Ansem turned to me and was about to block my Keyblade with his own, when something strange happened, his Keyblade vanished. Then, his entire body lit up in a luminous glow, blinding everyone.

"Look away from the light!" a voice yelled from within the glow

"That you Zexy?" Axel yelled

"Shield your eyes idiot!" Zexion's voice shouted back

"Don't need to tell me twice." Axel said turning around

In an act of curiosity, I forced my eyes, which had shut themselves the moment the glow began, open. At first all I saw was endless white light, but then it started to fade and I saw Zexion, but he looked... different. He was now wearing a pair of blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers, his black jacket had been replaced with a blue one with two white stripes running parallel on each sleeve overtop of a plain red t-shirt. The Heartless emblem that had been displayed on Zexion's chest was now replaced with a silver chain-link pendant, the pendant itself shaped like the outline of a heart, and his hair was shorter, even though it still covered his left eye.

"Alright, you can look now" He said

Hesitantly Axel turned back to Zexion and opened his eyes "Wow, Zexy is that you, or did Ansem just go through a costume change"

Zexion smiled "No, its me." he said

"Something's different about you Zexion." Saix noticed

"Perhaps it his outfit?" Marluxia suggested

"No... its something else." Axel said walking up to Zexion "Tell me... have you lost weight?"

Zexion laughed "Well given what I've gone through, I'd say losing ten pounds isn't too much to ask." he joked, giving Axel a light punch on the shoulder

"I've got it!" Axel declared "You're happy."

"Yes." Zexion agreed

"Well forgive us if we can't rejoice along with you." Saix said

Zexion chuckled "Oh Saix." he said placing his arm over Saix's shoulder "You're so... depressing."

"Thanks." Saix said

Zexion walked over to me and helped me stand up, I had not even realized that I was so weak that my knees had given into my weight again. Then I noticed he was staring at me, as if studying my face.

"You look a lot like him" Zexion said turning around and heading for Luxord and Demyx

I raised an eyebrow "Who do I look like that both that Ansem guy, and Zexion say I look like?"

"Beats me, keep in mind Zexy's got all his memories back, we don't." Axel said, slamming his hand into my back

"YEOWCH!" I screamed

"Sorry Roxas" Axel apologized

"You realize of course, that the damage you did to the castle while possessed will be your responsibility." Saix said to Zexion, gesturing at the burning castle

"I didn't expect anything less Saix. Why don't I start with the people." He said

A luminous glow erupted from Zexion's hand, and when it faded, we were all shocked to see the Keyblade had materialized in his hand. He pointed the Keyblade at Demyx and Luxord, the Keyblade began to surge with a twilight colored glow.

"Revive" he chanted

The light flashed over Luxord and Demyx, running through their bodies like water flows through a river. Both Demyx and Luxord pulsed with orange light as it flowed through. Demyx was the first of the pair to awaken.

"YAAAAAGH!" Demyx cried taking his Sitar off of his head "Why was my Sitar on my head?"

"Oh shut up Demyx" Zexion said pulling him up

"You can wield the Keyblade?" I asked holding up my own

Zexion smiled and nodded holding his Keyblade to cross with mine, a spark of light was emitted when they touched "You and I share a similar power, and a similar purpose."

"What?" I asked

"You'll find out one day." He said

"It's strange." I thought "Based on what Xigbar said about Zexion before he was a Nobody I thought he'd be all moody and emo. Now that he's a Somebody I didn't expect him to be so... happy"

Zexion turned to Saix and Marluxia "If you can get the others to the laboratory I can start healing them, Demyx and Luxord were lucky, they were only knocked out." he said

"What about me?" Axel asked "I can help."

Zexion pinched his nose with his free hand "You can go shower."

"Hey wha-" Axel started

"Look at yourself Axel?" Zexion instructed "You look like you fell in a swimming pool!"

Axel looked down "Okay I guess your right"

Suddenly we were interrupted by a large cracking sound. We all turned to the giant purple orb Ansem had summoned during the fight. It had begun to shape itself into the form of a giant heart. None of us knew for sure, but we had a pretty good feeling it was Kingdom Hearts.

"What is that?" Zexion asked, mesmerized by the sight "When did it get here? The sky has always been... empty."

"That, is Kingdom Hearts. Ansem summoned it during the fight." Saix inferred

Zexion just starred it, its malevolent Purple glow meaning nothing to him. He was entranced by the violet light that it emitted and the shine it gave off. He started to walk towards the edge of the platform.

"It's-" He said, a tear escaping his eye "Beautiful."

Suddenly, tendrils of violet energy shot out of Kingdom Hearts and wrapped themselves around Zexion's arm.

"What?" Zexion shouted, dropping the Keyblade

"What's going on?" Axel shouted, trying to pry the tendrils off of Zexion

More tendrils shot out of Kingdom Hearts and wrapped themselves around his other arm, then even more tendrils wrapped themselves around both his legs. Marluxia tried to cut them with his Scythe but it proved an ineffective method as it bounced off the tendrils. Slowly the tendrils lifted Zexion into the air.

"What's happening?" Zexion shouted

"It's Kingdom Hearts!" I realized "It's-"

"It's trying to pull him in!" Demyx shouted

"Trying is an attempt that may be unsuccessful-" Zexion yelled, the tendrils retracting swiftly, pulling him towards Kingdom Hearts "I'd say it IS pulling me in!"

"ZEXION!" I yelled grabbing his outstretched hand

My torso hit the edge of the platform, stopping Zexion's ascent into Kingdom Hearts. But I could feel Kingdom Heart's yearn for Zexion as its tendrils of violet energy increased in strength. I held on but I knew that soon Kingdom Hearts would consume my friends.

* * *

><p>Zexion POV<p>

"I can't hold on forever Zexion." Roxas said "We gotta do something."

"Send the lesser's at it!" Axel offered

"I couldn't break that thing you twit!" Marluxia yelled bonking Axel on the head with his fist "What makes you think the lesser Nobodies could!"

I looked over at my Kingdom Key, laying on the floor abandoned, forgotten, and discarded. It vanished in a flash of light, no doubt returning to where ever it goes when not in use. It had seemed like I had only just received that blade, only to have my life threatened by this mysterious force attempting to destroy me. I turned my head to see my 'attacker'. Something we had longed for was attempting to kill us, poetic justice I suppose.

"The Heart of all worlds," I said aloud "The Heart of everything. I wonder, to be consumed by the light of Kingdom Hearts, what would one experience?"

"Don't give into the pursuit of knowledge now Zexy!" Axel said grabbing Roxas' body and pulling him back in an attempt to over power Kingdom Hearts

I heard a voice speak to me, no, the voice was speaking to me through my heart "To accomplish your true destiny, you must be consumed by the light."

I looked back at Roxas "We'll meet again you know."

"What are you talking about?" He yelled

"I have to go now, but this isn't the last time we'll see each other." I told him

"Zexion no!" He shouted

I smiled, closed my eyes, and before he could say anything, I let go of his hand. I opened my eyes to see the Castle and my friends speed away from me in a blur that prevented me from seeing anyone except for Roxas, who appeared to be screaming. I could hear nothing but a silent steady heart beat, my heartbeat, as I slammed in to Kingdom Hearts, a purple aura surrounding me like water. The violet light slowly changed to a beautiful yellow one. I closed my eyes, and let it consume me, and said "Now what?"

* * *

><p>Saix POV<p>

"ZEXION!" Roxas shouted as Zexion was pulled into Kingdom Hearts, which had changed color from Violet to yellow

"Well." I said "How are we going to explain this to Xemnas?"

"I'm interested to find out." A deep voice said from behind me

I turned around swiftly to find myself facing Number I himself. "Lord Xemnas?"

"I leave the Castle to gauge a foe's power, and I come home to find-" He gestured towards the castle "-the palace ablaze-" he gestured to the Organization members lying unconscious "-our fellow members unconscious-" and then he gestured to me "-and you in charge, care to explain?"

I looked at Axel "Sorry man, you're on your own."

"Um... we've got Kingdom Hearts?" I offered

"Yes, and I'd love to hear the rest of the story." Xemnas asked

"Well... I may as well start from the beginning." I said

END

Signs of What's to come

"Who are you?"

"I am the thing you call the world, or perhaps the universe. I am the Truth, I am God, I am all and I am one... so of course... I am you"


End file.
